How to Hire an IoT Developer: IoT Developer Salary, Job Description

The global Internet of Things (IoT) market is projected to grow from almost 308 billion USD in 2020 to 1,854.70 billion USD in 2028. So now it’s more than just a popular trend. 

And you, trying to stay ahead of the curve, might want to join the market with IoT-based products too. For, for example, to build an IoT smart home app. But here’s the question – how to hire an IoT developer?

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At Relevant Software, we have experience hiring IoT developers. We have also employed the technology for projects, such as Sensor Innovation and Airthings.

If you want to know more about the IoT developer job description, salary, and how to hire one based on our experience, then keep on reading.

Skills that you need to look for in IoT developers

First things first, IoT is a broad area that involves many technologies, including machine learning, automation, analytics, and wireless systems. Likewise, an IoT developer’s skill set should reflect in more than one technology.

Here are nine of the skills that such a specialist most definitely needs.

1. Knowledge about hardware

IoT is based on devices, or components, connected with each other via the cloud, such as digital-first devices, physical-first devices, and lots of sensors. Handling all these components requires a good knowledge of hardware design.

A developer may even need to use engineering design software and other programs to build a smart network consisting of devices, systems, and machines that would work together to complete an objective.

2. Networking

Connectivity is everything in IoT. It allows the different devices to communicate with each other and communicate with other applications and services running in the cloud.

When making a massive IoT project (such as environmental monitoring system using IoT), a developer needs to design a network that is efficient, simple, and can manage all the connected devices easily. To build such a network, they need some serious knowledge about network design. They should also have the minimum knowledge required about network standards, protocols, and technologies like Bluetooth, Zigbee, etc. Sometimes you may need professionals with very specific knowledge, such as how to use IoT Core.

3. Security

Any big IoT project with a massive network of devices and systems needs to work with each other’s data. However, this raises the concern of privacy issues, data loss, malicious attacks, and more.

What a customer needs is a system that is secure and has a foolproof structure. An IoT developer would need decent knowledge in the field of digital security to make a system that can prevent unauthorized access and data loss.

4. UI/UX design

People want user-friendly design that is easy to navigate both on desktop and mobile devices. The software should be responsive and make things easier for your customers.

That is why, when hiring an IoT developer, ensure that they have a good understanding of UX and UI required to build a user interface that your customers would love.

5. Business Intelligence

In an IoT system, you need to collect data, store it and analyze it to improve your services. A developer needs to understand the value of data to make sense of it. So, hire an IoT developer who has the minimum business intelligence required to handle data.

6. Mobile application development

A mobile application is required to interact with the devices to make the overall thing portable. Therefore, you need an IoT developer who understands the specifics of mobile app development and can create Android and iOS applications to allow the user to connect with the IoT system on the go.

7. API automation

Given the volumes of data and interfaces that IoT systems have to process, almost half of their value depends on operability. Therefore, a developer must have the skill to connect automatic API and manual testing.

8. Data Science

Big data is the fuel that drives IoT, and any developer needs to make all the data collected work seamlessly for users. The concept of big data has become so much popular that even cities are opening up to use big data to innovate new solutions and fix their infrastructure problems.

You need an IoT developer who would be able to integrate big data into the project in a meaningful way to create new solutions to problems.

9. Artificial Intelligence and ML

AI can be used for autonomous decision making while ML – to improve services based on the data collected.

An IoT developer needs to design a system that would collect massive amounts of data and analyze them to predict the next outcome. For that, they would need good knowledge of AI and ML.

How to hire an IoT developer: Job description and screening questions

With the above skill set in mind, let’s devise a sample vacancy that would fit any job platform.

Job description example for an IoT developer

A good place to look for IoT developers is LinkedIn. You can also post a vacancy on websites like Indeed or Glassdoor, and you should definitely have an Open Positions page on your website to add credibility to the job post.

Whichever platform you choose, the basic structure of the post is as follows:

About [your company]:

2-3 sentences about what your company does and the IoT project goals

Key responsibilities:

• Leading and managing all aspects of the technical project
• Creating and maintaining systems, databases, applications
• Determining system requirements by testing them
• Troubleshooting and resolving operational issues
• Writing expert-level documentation

Qualifications:

• Hands-on experience with Java or Python
• Hands-on experience with Bluetooth and Zigbee protocols
• Cloud development and integration
• Strong data skills with knowledge of SQL

Nice to have:

• Experience in mobile app development

This is just a sample of what your job post might look like. Specialists also like when companies are transparent about the salary, but more on the money in a later section.

Before that, let’s look at some screening questions.

Interview questions for an IoT developer position

After you provide the job description on the internet, you will see that you are getting lots of suitable applicants who possess all the qualities that you are looking for. But, since the number of seats is limited, you will need to filter out the most suitable ones.

Hosting an interview is the best way to do so. Here are some questions that you can ask the candidates.

Q: What are the essential elements of the Internet of Things solution (e.g. IoT solution for HVAC)?
A: There are four basic components to nearly every IoT solution: devices, connectivity, data processing, and user interface (mobile or web application, etc.).

Q: What is MQTT?
A: Message Queue Telemetry Transport Protocol is a publish-subscribe network protocol for sending and receiving messages between devices in IoT. MQTT may be used with any network protocol that offers ordered, lossless, bi-directional connection; however, it is most commonly used with TCP/IP.

Q: Please, list layers of the IoT protocol stack.
A: The physical layer, link layer, network layer, transport layer, application protocol layer, and application services layer make up the IoT protocol stack, which may be seen as an extension of the TCP/IP layered protocol paradigm.

Q: What are IoT testing tools?
A: IoT testing is the process of running QA tests to ensure that an IoT device’s performance, functionality, and security are all up to standard. Various tools are employed in the testing of IoT systems. They can be divided into two categories: hardware and software IoT testing tools.

IoT Testing Tools for Hardware Testing

• JTAG Dongle
• Digital Storage Oscilloscope
• Software Defined Radio

IoT Testing Tools for Software Testing

• Wireshark
• Tcpdump
• Shodan
• SOASTA CloudTest

Q: What databases are suitable for IoT?
A: It can be:

• MySQL
• InfluxDB
• CrateDB
• Apache Cassandra
• MongoDB
• RethinkDB
• SQLite Database
• Oracle

Q: What is sharding in IoT applications?
A: Sharding is a method for dividing and storing a single logical dataset over many databases. If a dataset is too huge to be kept in a single database, sharding is required. It has the ability to store more data, process more requests, and handle more workloads more effectively.

Q: List the most used sensors in IoT.
A: The sensors are:

• Temperature sensor
• Pressure sensor
• Proximity sensor
• Gas sensor
• IR sensor
• Motion sensor
• Smoke sensor

Q: Is it possible to make a small radar? If yes, then how?
A: If we use an ultrasonic sensor to detect object presence and distance, we can make a small radar.

Q: How will you determine the quality of water?
A: We can use water quality sensors to determine the quality of water.

Q: Make a list of some water sensors.
A:  Here is a list of some water sensors:

• Total organic carbon sensor
• pH sensor
• Turbidity sensor
• Conductivity sensor

Q: Can you give me a better idea to save electricity?
A: If we use light sensors to switch off street lights automatically, then we can save a lot of electricity.

These were our picks for interview questions. You can always add some that are more specific for your project.

Salaries of IoT Developers in Different Countries

As mentioned before, candidates like to know the salary they can expect when applying for a position. Here is a list of the salaries of developers from different countries so you have something to go by.

• US: $113,088/year
• Ukraine: $45,000/year
• UK: $69,887/year
• Netherlands: $73,151/year
• Germany: $74,421/year

If you’re looking for talent worldwide, hiring IoT developers in Ukraine will be the most profitable for you. However, lower costs do not mean there will be a compromise in quality. Let us discuss why Ukraine is one of the best countries to outsource software development.

What makes Ukrainian developers a good option for hire?

Ukraine is one of the best countries to outsource software development because it has over 400 universities that focus on science and engineering. That is why more than 15000 graduates come out every year specializing in IT. The graduates are also well-trained in communicative English, so there will be no communication barrier.

Ukraine has gained a worldwide reputation thanks to its developer-friendly ecosystem and its big list of startups. The list keeps on growing, which has inspired Ukrainians to get into IoT development.

While some Ukrainian developers focus on opening their own startups, others prefer to deliver their services to international clients. A lot of them have even worked with tech giants; for example, Samsung has a Research and Development center in the capital – Kyiv. This gives you plenty of reliable outsourcing partners to work with.

Four common ways to hire a Ukrainian IoT developer

If you’re on board with hiring international talent, here are four ways you can reach out to specialists in Ukraine.

Hire Freelancers

Hiring freelancers is a good option if you need more human resources for smaller tasks. You can find suitable candidates on platforms, such as Upwork, Freelancer or Toptal. When looking for a freelancer, you can search according to their relevant skills, experience, and ratings.

However, it’s not a recommended option in case you need an IoT developer who will help design the software and manage processes like in the sample job post above.

Take the help of Ukrainian recruiting agencies

It might be hard for you to find a suitable freelancer for your job. Instead, you can take the help of the Ukrainian recruiting agencies. Local agencies perform much better in selecting suitable candidates than anyone else.

Contact a Software Development Agency

Outsourcing to Ukraine via a software development company is by far the most reliable and often a more affordable option. When it comes to building large projects or hiring developers on a long-term contract, nothing can be better than outsourcing your work to a software development agency.

They have dedicated software development teams that will take care of all your needs and you won’t have to worry about any software outsourcing challenges as they will find all the suitable developers on their own and give you the final result.

High-quality IoT projects from Relevant

If you are looking for an internet of things development company, you should consider Relevant. We are a software development agency based in Ukraine and provide IoT software solutions among other services, such as designing web applications.

• Qualified talent pool. We have IoT and mobile app developers who specialize in developing interactive iOS, Android, and hybrid applications.
• Results tailored to your needs. To make your IoT system more accessible to you, we also focus on wearables connectivity.
• Suitable technologies. To ensure that you get a detailed report and analysis of the collected data from anywhere around the world, we provide mobile data visualization services.

Conclusion

There are several things to consider when you hire an IoT developer, such as the skills they need to possess and the responsibilities they should take to fulfil your project needs. You also need to budget for the salary of each IoT developer based on the country they are from.

Outsourcing to Ukraine is the most profitable choice. So why not outsource IoT app development services to a dedicated team of professionals like Relevant Software instead of hiring developers one by one?

Contact Relevant to get a free quote on your IoT project and find out about your options.